The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
by Jeanniefan78
Summary: In the midst of a difficult time and situation in her life, Kate receives comfort from an unexpected source.


**THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP**

**Written by: Jeanniefan78/April**

**Author's Note:** _This was written for flootzavut/Sarah for the 2013 NFA Secret Santa Exchange. : )_

Christmas was supposed to be such a happy time, but almost everyone seemed to be in a bad mood for one reason or another.

"Good grief!" Tony was a bit gruffer than usual.

"What's the matter with you?" Even McGee knew this wasn't his usual demeanor.

"It's a madhouse out there!"

"It's Christmastime. What did you expect?"

"For your information, McGrumpy, I had to stand in the checkout line at Bailey's Toy Store for over 20 minutes to buy one thing! One thing! And on top of that, I had to eat tuna fish for lunch!"

McGee rolls his eyes.

Tony looks over at Kate. "You're awfully quiet."

"Who could get a word in edgewise when you're running off at the mouth?," Kate snaps. She smiles a sarcastic smile and then, goes back to her work.

"Sounds like someone's pantyhose is one size too small."

"Shut up, DiNozzo."

"Hey, hey, hey! Be nice, you two," McGee interrupts.

"Why don't you mind your own business, McNosey?!"

"Yeah, that's not the pot calling the kettle black."

"Isn't that the truth," Kate mutters.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?," Tony asks, looking over at her.

Kate shoots him a glaring look. "It means it's a wonder you don't have the world's biggest sinus infection because you constantly stick your nose where it doesn't belong."

"Well, excuse me!"

"There's no excuse for you, Tony."

Tony scowls at her.

McGee's phone rings. "McGee…What? Have I talked to Da…Have I talked to Dad? Sarah, this is me. You know Dad never wants to talk to me unless he wants to criticize…Yes, he does!…Well, try calling again!…Alright…Yeah, like that's gonna happen." McGee hangs up the phone. "My father's at it again."

"What?," Tony asks.

"Making promises he has no intention of keeping."

"Tell me about it. My old man is the king of empty promises. When my mom died, it was almost like I didn't even exist anymore."

"Yeah, my dad was gone a lot, and when he was around, all he did was criticize. Nothing I did was ever good enough. All I ever wanted was for him to be proud of me."

"I know the feeling. My dad never voiced his disapproval like yours, but I…"

"Yeah. I always wondered how my mom put up with him."

"Oh, for the love of peace and goodness, will you two just shut up?!," Kate blurts out.

McGee and Tony are dumbfounded.

"So you didn't have perfect lives. So you didn't have perfect fathers. Big deal! There are people out there who are a lot worse off than you! You two should start looking at what's right in your lives and being thankful for what you do have, instead of griping about what's wrong and what you don't have!"

Kate could feel her eyes stinging, as angry tears filled them, and her face growing warmer by the second. She quickly gets up from her desk and storms away.

Still speechless and feeling practically two inches tall, Tony and McGee turn their attention to their computers.

…...

"Are you alright?"

Kate wipes some tears off of her face and turns her head to find Gibbs standing a few feet away.

"Yes, I'm fine." She sniffles and turns her attention back to staring out the break room windows.

Gibbs slowly walks toward her. "No, you're not."

Kate closes her eyes in embarrassment. "You saw my little moment downstairs, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm just having a really bad day."

"No, it's more than that."

"Oh, so you're an expert now?"

"No, Katie. I mean I know something has been troubling you for a few weeks now… What's going on?"

Kate takes a deep breath and exhales. "My dad has been diagnosed as being in the early stages of colon cancer, and uh…well, right now they don't exactly know what stage it's in, but they believe it to be in the early stages and…they can't really tell us what his prognosis is at this point…" She takes another deep breath, trying to force back tears.

Gibbs pats her right shoulder.

"I spent so much time being angry with him and my mom over their divorce. At times, I tried to cover up my anger and pretend it didn't exist, but I learned the hard way that negative feelings buried alive never die. But now, we are closer than we ever were and….." Her voice cracks as the tears, once again, begin to flow. "I just don't know what I'm going to do if anything happens to him." She breaks down, sobbing.

Gibbs grips her shoulders and nudges her to turn around. She's doesn't even try to resist. He embraces her and she reciprocates his hug, laying her head on his shoulder.

He rubs her back and holds her as she cries. He'd never done very well with crying women, but she needed a friend and he wanted to be there for her. It is in that moment that he realizes how much he cares for her.

"It'll be okay."

"I hope so."

She breaks the hug and wipes her face with her sleeve.

"When's the last time you saw your dad?"

"A few months ago. He stopped here overnight on his way to Florida on a business trip."

"If you need to take some time off to go and be with him, we can work something out."

Kate begins to tear up again. "Thank you. That really means a lot."

Gibbs hands her a Kleenex.

"Thanks," she says, taking it and wiping her eyes.

"Do you, uh… Do you have any plans for dinner tonight?"

"Huh?," she asks, a little surprised.

"Do you have any plans for dinner?"

"Are you serious?," she asks, still not quite sure.

"Have you ever known me to be anything else?"

Kate chuckles and sniffles. "Good point."

Gibbs chuckles.

"No, I don't have any plans."

"Well, if you're up to it, I know of a good diner on the outskirts of town."

Kate still isn't quite sure what to make of this, but she sees the sincerity in his eyes and is not about to argue.

"Sure."

Gibbs nods his head once and grins. "Alright."

As Gibbs walks away, she half grins.

She takes out her cellphone and dials a number.

"Hi, Dad."

…...

As the elevator begins to go down, Gibbs leans against the back wall. In his mind, he keeps going back to what Kate said about being angry with her parents for so long and learning the hard way that negative feelings buried alive never die.

He thinks back to when his mother died and how it tore him and his father up. As time went on, his father healed, but Gibbs not so much. He wanted someone to blame, and when his father tried to move on, Gibbs became even more angry.

He softened up some when Shannon came along, but after losing her and Kelly, he went all but completely to pieces. He just knew he would never love again. Then, when his father showed up at the funeral with a lady friend, that became the straw that broke the camel's back. His animosity over his mother's death returned with a vengeance, on top of his hurt and anger over Shannon's and Kelly's deaths. This time, his father had gone too far, and as far as he was concerned, his father became dead to him.

"Negative feelings buried alive never die," he thinks to himself once again. He was realizing more and more that his father wasn't the problem at all. His problem was pride.

Gibbs reaches and flips the switch to turn off the elevator. He takes out his cellphone and dials a number. As the phone on the other end rings, he takes a deep breath and exhales.

"Hello."

"Hi, Dad."

"Leroy? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Dad. It's me."

"Well, it's uh… It's been a long time, Son."

"Yeah, it has… Too long."

…...

After Kate finishes talking to her father, she makes her way down to the squadroom and apologizes to McGee and Tony for blowing up at them and for being rude. She knew that no matter what she was going through, it didn't excuse rude behavior.

Not wanting to end up in tears again, especially in front of them, she opts not to tell them about her father right now. They would find out soon enough.

She, then, makes her way to the ladies restroom. She looks at herself in the mirror.

"Kate, you're a mess," she says out loud.

She turns on the water, takes a paper towel from the dispenser, moistens part of it, and gently wipes at streaks of mascara on her face.

She thinks about her comforting moment with Gibbs up in the break room. On one hand, she is surprised by what he did. But, on the other hand, she isn't surprised because even though he has never been good at showing emotion, he is an essentially caring man. She felt such a sense of comfort and safety as he hugged her and she was grateful he was there.

After finishing touching up her make-up, she takes one last look in the mirror and then, puts the make-up back in her purse and proceeds out of the restroom.

…...

"Oh, hey. Are you about ready to go?," Gibbs asks her as she walks back into the bullpen.

"Uh, yeah. I just need to get my coat on."

After they get on the elevator and the doors close, Kate looks over at Gibbs. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He grins at her. "No problem." He pauses and then, looks over at her again. "I'm really glad you're here, Katie."

Kate smiles, very touched. "Thank you."

In seconds, Kate feels his hand brush up against hers. She jumps, very slightly, but doesn't move her hand away.

Once again, his hand brushes up against hers, and this time, before either of them realize it, their hands become fully entwined.

As the elevator slows down and comes to a stop, she fully expects him to let go of her hand…but he doesn't…and she realizes she doesn't want him to let go.

As they look over at each other, Gibbs grins at her and squeezes her hand. He didn't have to say anything. The look in his eyes said it all… He didn't want to let go either.

Kate grins and squeezes his hand back in response.

As the elevator doors open, they walk out, hand-in-hand, but in a discreet manner so as to try and keep others from noticing their entwined hands.

Neither one of them quite knows what is happening, but they both have the feeling that this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

**THE END**

©2013 By Jeanniefan78/April*No part of this story may be performed or reproduced in any way, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the author.

*All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Some characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with the owners, creators, cast, crew, or producers of NCIS or any media franchise. This is strictly for fan enjoyment only. No copyright infringement is intended.


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